I saw this, too...it was a warning for their product called Chomper. It was not clear to me what in the formula would have caused the described problem, and I believe there was only one case sited.

The FDA seems very quick to post warnings on natural products... ephedra, chapparal, kava, tryptophan...to name a few, and in some cases outlaw their sale. Far more problems are caused by OTC drugs, with little or no warnings issued, and rarely pulled from the market.

I agree that herbs can indeed be harmful, and anything should be thoroughly investigated. But it is also important to consider the source of ithe nformation that is being disseminated.

I did the Arise and Shine cleanse and felt wonderful on it. I think the FDA is just trigger happy when it comes to natural treatments.
I know several other people who have done it too and have experienced wonderful results.
Another cleanse that I will try is Ejuva. It is based on ayruvedic.
I actually think it is better and gentler on the system then Arise and Shine because it does not use bentonite. But overall they are both effective and thorough!

Good Luck

It sounds like there is some misunderstanding. Arise & Shine suffered a problem about 1997 when it, like about 160 other herbal companies, received the herb plantain contaminated with digitalis. Digitalis did not show up in the regular routine testing and was inadvertently mixed into one of the formulas. Digitalis is now tested for industry wide in plantain. Digitalis is not an ingredient used by Arise & Shine, or the herbal industry for the that matter. The FDA warning related to the contaminated product only. For a complete understanding of what happened, there is an article in a 1998 issue of the New England Journal of Science.

Blessings to you.

Hi, Just researched this a bit, about the FDA warning on Chomper. What that warning about was that in 1997 batches of plantain (used in Chomper)were contaminated with a similar herb (Digitalis lanatas). The Digitalis was the problem, causing the troubles, and it contaminated the plantain earlier up the chain. I believe from my reading the batch came from a German supplier. If you care about such things , it's a fascinating read over at fda.gov. Just go there and do a search on Chomper, Arise & Shine or plantain. There's even a committee meeting in 1998 where they are discussing general identification/contamination issues and mention this situation. Pages 54-66 approximately in that report speak about this issue.

Now the real question is, how does this play out in the present and ongoing? Before this 1997 incident, apparently Arise & Shine recalled the product before for the same contamination (not obligated to tell the FDA according to the Committee meeting minutes). So what improvements have been made on verifying the plantain as plantain?

Issues here mentioned in the transcript of the meeting include imported plants, and types of testing. Apparently, Arise & Shine did test the product but that test didn't show any adulteration. This was back in 1997, so what have they done to update this? IN the meeting, this issue was relayed as a general concern, not just with Arise & Shine, a genuine, general concern with all herbal products. What progress has the FDA made, as well?

Nothing is mentioned about Chomper since 1997. That might suggest at least the FDA hasn't found any more instances. The question remains, how well and in what ways are these herbal products (not just Chomper)tested?

All best,

WV

Link to FDA

The FDA will always seek to quash any herbal formula which is designed to heal you and set you free of the need for an M.D. If you detoxify your body fully then you will always be healthy and there's no future for the medical business if that happens!! It may well be that there are cardiac problems with the formula that I don't know about, but I've done the cleanse a few times and felt only good after and all my friends who've done it too. It's a challenging thing cleansing and not to be entered into lightly or without supervision from a naturopath or other suitably-qualified health professional. It's important that you take it at the pace that's right for you and don't experience toxic shock where too many toxins gets released into your bloodstream too quickly. In rare cases this can cause death. But as long as you're sensible, you'll be fine, with your facial lines disappearing before your very eyes and pounds lighter too!

It is also highly recommended that you do at least two enemas a day in the last week of the cleanse (master phase). Without these there is very little point in wasting your money and time.
Enjoy!